Fox Cities P.A.C. Receives Collaboration In Action Award

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center was proud to accept the Collaboration in Action Award given at Lawrence University's ninth annual Report to the Community on Thursday, February 8.

The award recognizes an individual or organization, who, in partnership with Lawrence, has provided exemplary service to the Fox Cities community through strategic vision, leadership influence, long-standing commitment and enthusiasm, financial contributions and/or volunteerism.

The award, in part, reads "Lawrence University salutes the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center for promoting a more just, equitable and inclusive community in which to live, work and learn."

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center was recognized for its community collaborations, inviting the community to engage in conversations about race relations and social change through its Spectrum Dance Theater residency program in February 2017. The Center partnered with Lawrence University in planning the Seattle based company's engagement activities while in the Fox Cities. The program kicked off with a performance and discussion at Lawrence Memorial Chapel, where attendees were invited to explore how the story of those being marginalized in our society can be expressed through movement. The week of discussions, workshops and performances that followed engaged more than 1500 Lawrence students and community members through artistic expressions of important topics affecting communities like ours throughout the United States.

"The Spectrum Dance Theater residency really spoke to the issue of how do we look at creating a community in which everyone feels like they belong, how we can talk to each other across our differences and try to empathize and understand the perspectives of others," said Dr. Kimberly Barrett, Lawrence University's vice president for diversity and inclusion.

Fox Cities P.A.C. President Maria Van Laanen accepted the award on behalf of the Center.

"It is the Center's mission to be a gathering place for the community, and our partnerships, like the one with Lawrence University, allow us to reach even more people through the arts," Van Laanen said. "Valuable programs like the Spectrum Dance Theater residency remind us of the unique power of the arts to serve as a catalyst to bring people together to share an experience that challenges existing paradigms and can result in lasting change. Working together through strong partnerships like the one between the Center and Lawrence University is having a tremendous, lasting impact in improving the quality of life for everyone in our community."

Lawrence University also recognized ThedaCare's Community Health Action Team (CHAT) and the Fox Cities Diversity Officers Collaborative at this year's event.

ABOUT THE FOX CITIES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and cultural education organization located in downtown Appleton, provides a premier venue for live performing arts. Since 2002, the Center has proudly served as a gathering place for the community to engage in educational opportunities while enhancing a greater understanding and appreciation of life through the live performing arts. The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center - Where the Arts Come Alive!

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